A New Dawn
by Chase Andrews
Summary: A New Dawn. One of blood, death, and endless destruction. Amidst the decays of a nation of the damned, a lone survivor stalks the land. Chase Andrews was a simple mail-room guy. Nothing important. No one would know if he went missing. A New Dawn has risen, and only a few will survive to see Dusk. -Rated M for Language and Adult situations-


_**Prologue**_

"_Hell may be full of their souls, their bodies still roam the Earth. Forever starving."_

* * *

"Ho-oly shit! Did you see that thing on the TV? In Miami?" That was Richard. The factory lackey. He was the one who annoyed us all, all of the time, "That guy lunged on that other dude and ate his face!"

"Yes. We all saw it." James, the factory foreman, responded, "Now why don't you get your ass back to work and quit watching Tv."

"Yeah. Sorry, James. It's just… you don't think that shit everyone has been saying is true, do you? About a plague?" Richard's worried words rang out, "I mean, my ma lives in Miami and if something serious is about to go down, I wanna get her out of there."

"No. There's no plague. It's gonna be alright, your ma's gonna be fine." Said Xavier, one of the security guards, "Besides, we all know that's who we'd save first. Her and her delicious gravy."

Everyone who heard this laughed, Richard's mom was an amazing chef. She cooked gravy and sent it up state to us, "Alright guys, let's get back to work before I have to yell at you all." James announced.

I was new on the job and didn't really know any of these people, any of them. I only worked there for a few weeks before it unfolded. My name is Chase Andrews. I'm Six feet and two inches tall. I have dark brown hair, almost black. My eyes are a mix between green and brown, I call it diarrhoea, and I have a boring job.

All I do all day long is stamp mail. I'm the mail guy. That's it, nothing special. The mail guy. I stamp mail, hand it out, deliver it, take it, and shred it. The mail guy.

"Chase, any letters for me?" Jake asked when he walked through my door, "Expecting one from the wife any day."

"Nothing right now. I page you if I get anything." Jake looked sad, he walked away with a frown, "Sorry man."

The next few hours were about the same. I'll skip ahead to closing time.

A mix of 'see ya and bye's' could be heard throughout the clock out area. At Steinsler's Machine Assembly there was no third shift. The day began at five in the morning and ended at nine at night. At thirty-five bucks an hour it was a great job. All we did was stand or sit at an assembly line and piece together a couple of parts.

I clocked out, much the same as the others, and wandered towards the mail-room exit. Upon arriving at the door marked: 'EXIT' in big bold letters, I left. I heard shouts from the other side of the building and wondered what it was about. The mail-room exit led into an alleyway that had been blocked from one side with dumpsters. It had one way out and one way in. A great place for me to park, as I was the only mail-room employee.

"Jesus Christ! James, no!" I heard someone shout from the other side. I figured it wasn't serious. I mean, they said stuff like that all the time.

"Fuck! Fuck! He fucking bit me!" Jake screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Get the fuck out of here! Leave me!" James shouted, then a gurgling noise. I heard a car scream off.

I climbed into my car without haste and drove off. I figured they were playing a joke. They always did. I made it to my second floor apartment and locked the door. Same as always. I walked to my kitchen, made some Spaghetti-O's and ate them. I watched a movie that I had on DVD, I believe it was something with Woody Harrison and Tom Hanks. I can't remember. I fell asleep around eleven.

I dreamt of the movie. I can't recall what exactly. I know I woke up to a beeping alarm clock, I overslept by three hours. It was eight when I woke up. I knew I couldn't make it to work and come up with a reasonable lie, so I was going to call in sick. I picked up my phone and called. It rang. And Rang. And Rang. I got Sid's answering machine.

I put on a believable sick voice, "Hey Sid -achoo- I can't make it to work today. I feel like -achoo- Heheh. Sorry, I'll be in tomorrow, with any luck..

I sat on my couch and flipped through channels. I eventually landed on a report about brutal attacks nationwide.

**Channel 13**-

"Reports of fighting and vicious attacks made by…" I switched channels, assuming it was a joke..

**Channel 25**-

"Flesh eating…" Thought it was a movie trailer.

**Channel 64**-

"...Walking corpses." I saw the news symbol flash in the bottom right of the screen and my eyes widened, "I repeat all over the nation there are reports of vicious attacks, fighting, looting, violence. The culprits all appear to suffer from the same illness. A name has not been chosen for it, but symptoms include: Aggression, Sunken eyes, mindless shambling. And more. The CDC is currently working out what happened. So far it has been determined that the infection spreads through biting. Possibly scratching."

What the hell was this. A plague? No. A plague doesn't cause cannibalism.

"Until a cure is found officials are urging the populace to stay inside and lock your doors. Board up any windows and turn your lights off. They are attracted to light and noise. Expect military assistance within a week. Police reports say that the only way to kill them is by destroying the brain." He gained a strange look, as if surprised to read that on the prompter.

"We're going to go to Olive, the reporter live on location. Olive how do things look dow- Oh my God! What the...what the hell! Cut the fucking picture!"

I got a good look in before they did. The camera was pointed at a now lifeless body, Olive's I presumed, and there was something… eating it. A man covered in blood was mow chowing on her guts.

"Uh… we're experiencing technical difficulties." The camera pointed down, but didn't shut off. "I'm getting the fuck out of here. I need to get home to my… What the hell! Behind you!" I heard, from off camera, a glass window breaking. Then shuffling. Then the anchorman screaming. Then, nothing.

"What the…" I stood up and made sure my door was locked. I closed my blinds. Being on the second floor, I had an advantage to… whatever this was. After grabbing my handgun, a Glock-30, I unlocked the door and looked outside.

What I saw was… terrifying to say the least. Being on the second floor, what I saw was… two walls and down the stairs was a sight I wish I could forget. I saw crashed cars, children ripped in half. Parents screaming as they were run over by panicking people. Animals being hit here and there. And the dead. They were walking and mauling everything in their path. Before they got to my staircase I quickly blocked it, about halfway up, with an old chair that sat on my porch area. They weren't getting up and I wasn't getting down.

I had enough food to last me a week. By then the military should be here and I would be fine. I went back inside and locked the doors. I got a phone call. It was my mom.

"Chase? Are you okay?" She sounded concerned. As if I wouldn't be.

I'm not that reckless, "Of course, mom. I'm fine. I blocked the stairs up to my apartment with that old chair. Finally found a use for it. Locked my doors and closed my blinds. Doing what the news you called Amber and Dylan? How about dad is he okay? You?"

"Yeah. We're all…" Static, "Amber" Static, "Waiting for a call back."

"Could you say that again, I got static on my end." Something about Amber.

"We're fine. Amber had to go, her room-mate got bit by some crazy guy. That was a few hours ago."

I should probably mention that I live in Hialeah, Florida. About nineteen minutes west of Miami. My family lives north, in Indiana. My parents live in a small town called Kendallville, my brother is attending college in a southern part of the state. A city known as Terre Haute. My sister lives in Fort Wayne, a somewhat metropolitan city. Terre Haute is approximately four hours away from Fort Wayne and Kendallville. I live at least a day away from them, even at a nonstop drive.

"Hopefully she's fine." The news information about bites slipped my mind, "Dylan's fine?"

"Yeah. He and some other students on the upper floors blocked the stairs off with some chairs and couches. The only way down is the elevator. And the only way up, past the fourth floor, is the elevator. Nothing's getting up or down." She chuckled, "Dylan's idea."

Dylan always was creative at getting himself out of trouble. They would be fine, with his leadership. "Finally contributing something to humanity, huh?" I laughed, "You and dad?"

"We're fine. Dad and I boarded up the windows. The dogs are in the basement with plenty of food. The cats are somewhere outside, they're fine though." She took a breath, "We blocked the doors, except for the back door." They had three doors, "We have the little cage area outside hammered open. And dad has his guns ready. Fully loaded and all of his steel. He's asleep at the moment, took him all night to make sure they were ready to go."

Just like dad. Keeping himself up all night to make sure his wife would be safe. "That's good." I told her, "You two stay safe." I heard a beep, "Oh, hang on. I'm getting another call."

"I have to go anyways. Your father says some of those things are outside and we need to be quiet. Bye son. I love you, stay safe."

"Bye mom. Love you." I answered the incoming call and was greeted by a blood curdling scream and a gunshot. After a few moments my sisters voice came on.

"Chase? I… I don't know if you're there. But… I had to shoot my room mate. She… she attacked me. She was about to bite me. I… I…" She started to bawl.

"Amber. It's okay. I think she was one of those things. One of the dead? You know? She got bit by someone, right?" I asked.

"Yeah… yeah… She was. Her eyes… they weren't human. She was dead. She had to be." She sounded relieved, "I have to get to my car. I'm driving home. I need to get home. You… you should come home too. Dylan can't. But you can. Please…" The phone died out with static and a dial tone.

"Fucking great…" I was talking to myself, "Just. Fucking. Great. The whole world has to hell and I'm trapped in a tiny ass apartment with a single Glock and a box of ammo. A few knives and some cans of food."

I sat down on my sofa and tried to turn on the TV. Nothing. Satellite was down. Phone service was out. At least I had power.

A few seconds later my power went out.

"Fuck me."

* * *

_Author Note-_

I decided I would try to re-upload A New Dawn. Different circumstances, and a different reality altogether. Don't worry, some aspect will be the same. My writing style changed and I wanted to rewrite the old story in my new style. Sorry for the late updates on the other story, this one will be updated at least once a week. If not, expect to chapters the next week. Anywho, let me know what you guys think! Oh, as always:

**OC SUBMISSION FORM-**

**Name-**

**Age-**

**Family-**

**Occupation Prior to outbreak-**

**Weapons (Reasonable)-**

**Ethnicity-**

**Brief Description of Appearance (BDA)-**

**Back-story-**

**Personality-**

**Anything Else-**


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